TITER OF ANTISTREPTOLYSIN O IN HUMAN SERUM AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID

THE CHIEF object of this investigation was to establish whether cerebrospinal fluid of human beings contains antistreptolysin O and, if so, what quantitative relation it might have to changing serum titers of antistreptolysin O. Twenty-eight infants and children between the ages of 7 months and 12 years, hospitalized for various illnesses, were chosen at random. Venous blood was obtained, and after a few hours of refrigeration the blood was centrifuged and the supernatant serum was stored at 4 C. (39.2 F.). Cerebrospinal fluid was taken from the patients within as short a period as possible before or after venipuncture and was also stored at 4 C. (39.2 F.). The titers of antistreptolysin O in the serum and the cerebrospinal fluid of the patients were then determined by the method of Todd,1as modified by Hodge and Swift2and revised by Massell.3 Assuming a serum titer of antistreptolysin